In the fourth month of the Hollywood actors strike, the SAG-AFTRA union remains in talks with major Hollywood studios on contract negotiations. The union, with more than 160,000 members, went on strike two days after its contracts expired on July 12.
A few of the union’s demands include wage increases that are in line with inflation, increased residual compensation, more control over artificial intelligence technology and improved health and retirement benefits.
Related: Netflix earnings to highlight password crackdown, actors' strike impact
The ongoing strike has contributed to California’s economy losing $5 billion in decreased revenue and for the fall box office to lose millions as thousands of actors who are members of the union refuse to return to work.
The strike, along with the recently concluded writers strike, has caused a multitude of shows to be put on pause, and longer delays are anticipated since negotiations between SAG-AFTRA and studio executives reached another snag on Oct. 11 after the union proposed to charge a fee for each streaming platform subscriber. Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos called the proposal “a bridge too far.”
According to talk show “Squawk Box,” which discusses news in business and politics, Disney’s “Deadpool 3” and Netflix's “Stranger Things” are two of the many casualties of the ongoing actors strike that have once again pushed back their release dates.
"There's almost no chance @Disney's #Deadpool3 is going to make its May date. @StrangerThings is not coming back when they thought it was going to," says @mattbelloni. "We're going to see the ramifications of this strike in content and on the bottom line go into next year." pic.twitter.com/L2GNQito43
— Squawk Box (@SquawkCNBC) October 23, 2023
Many movies and TV shows that have been paused by the strike are now predicted to resume production in 2024 at the earliest following little progression in negotiations, burying hopes of production resuming by the end of this year. Here is a list of six of the most in-demand movies and TV shows that have been delayed by the ongoing actors strike.
“Deadpool 3” – The Marvel superhero film starring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman is now predicted to miss its May 3, 2024 release date. It is being reported by Deadline that the movie could now possibly be released in November of next year and could have its original May release date seized by “Captain America: Brave New World” which is in better shape to premiere during that time.
“Stranger Things” Season 5 – The Netflix fan favorite “Stranger things” released season 4 of its show last year, leaving fans hungry for more. Season 5 of the show was hinted at by its creators, the Duffer brothers, to originally begin filming in the middle of this year, but was delayed due to the writers and actors strikes. There has been no official release date set yet, but one of the show’s producers, Shawn Levy, told The Wrap last week that they are hoping to begin filming soon. “I can say that we are hoping to start filming as soon as possible. We really need the actor’s strike resolved first. The Duffers have been hard at work since the writer’s strike ended,” he said.
“The Last of Us” – The hit post-apocalyptic-themed HBO series, which was based off of video game series “The Last of Us,” was released in January this year with only nine episodes in its first season. Fans are already asking about season 2, which was originally set to be released in 2025, but reportedly it has recently been delayed amid the ongoing actors strike for an unknown amount of time.
“Mortal Kombat 2” – “Mortal Kombat 2,” the sequel to “Mortal Kombat” in 2021, paused production in July shortly after SAG-AFTRA went on strike. According to The Wrap the movie is not expected to resume filming until 2024.
“Minecraft” – The movie based off of the video game “Minecraft” starring Jason Momoa and Matt Berry was set to start filming in August this year, but plans for production shut down in July when the SAG-AFTRA strike began. The release date for the movie was delayed and was set by Warner Bros. to hit theaters April 4, 2025, but the movie may face further delays based on the length of the ongoing actors strike.
“Interview with the Vampire” Season 2 – The second season that’s based off of Anne Rice's cult classic novel “Interview with the Vampire” ceased production in July due to the actors strike after jump-starting filming earlier this year in April. On Aug. 31, it was announced that filming will resume after AMC Studios and SAG-AFTRA scored an interim agreement specific to the show. An official release date has not been announced yet for the second season, but it is speculated that it will make its debut sometime in 2024.
